Apricity & Joey Niceforo Release New Music Video For Scorpions Classic “Wind of Change”
Alt-rocker Apricity has teamed up with classically trained operatic tenor Joey Niceforo to release an incredible modern day rendition of the Scorpions Classic “Wind of Change”. I don’t think there are many artists who could pull off this monumental track, but these two artists were able to do just that, adding their own style and flair to a song that served as a soundtrack to a political and cultural revolution, and with the state of the world today, it couldn’t be more relevant. The two singers come from very different worlds, and with the help of producer Thomas McKay and engineer Vic Florencia, they were able to fuse sounds from very different ends of the musical spectrum to create a larger than life sound.
This is only Apricity’s 3rd release, with her first two “All My Lies” and “The Fear” garnering her global attention in the alternative and rock circles, placing her on the radio, in magazines and in blogs not only in her home country of Canada but around the world. Her voice and delivery added a beautiful edge to this rock n roll ballad in a way few artists could. Niceforo has also had huge international success, with his last album “Priceless” being recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London UK and debuting at #3 of the iTunes Pop Charts. In my opinion Joey Niceforo has one of the strongest classical male voices in all of Canada, and to get to hear his incredible voice in a rock n roll tune is a big treat, giving it a life that I don’t think I’ve ever heard in any other rendition of the song!
Not only does the song feature two incredible singers, but the instrumentation and production to match. Huge guitars played by Ben Healey, meet with masterfully pieced percussion, classical strings, and one of the biggest pipe organs in all of Canada, which was recorded live off the floor. I had the opportunity to be in the room as they recorded the organ parts live off the floor and it literally gave me chills down my spine, it was beautiful to hear how the producer and engineer were able to mix it in to this epic rock n roll track. Thomas McKay is not only a producer, but also a writer, multi-instrumentalist and tracking engineer. Signed in London UK to R.C.A. Records, Tommyboy Records N.Y.C., Warner Chappell N.Y.C. and B.M.G. Canada, Thomas is platinum awarded and Juno-nominated. Engineer Vic Florencia, is a JUNO Award winning engineer/mixer ( 3 time nominee) who has worked with Snoop Dogg, Jason Mraz and Danko Jones to name a few. Together this dream team put together a truly unique take on a song we all know and love.
The music video itself was inspired by the podcast titled “Wind of Change”, which is Part spy caper, part Cold War-era music lesson, Wind of Change discusses the U.S. government’s history of exerting cultural influence overseas, especially through music. It dives into the possibility that the CIA were more involved in the Scorpions classic than people may realize. I won’t give any spoilers, but it’s a great listen. The music video features Apricity and Nicefor in a James Bond-esque, film noir style as they attempt to stop the end of the world. Also featuring Ben Healey, Melanie Busst, Charmaine Carr, Alexey Dolgansky, Christian Daltan, Ian Batterbury, Kelly Salgueiro and Paula Salgueiro and filmed by Jesse Read, Benjamin Gibson, Nik Varlamov and Shannen Frost of Dropout Entertainment, the music video brings the spy era to a modern day Ontario. Filmed at Rosewood United Church, Dundurn Castle, Dundas Square and Port Credit, the video follows the spies across southern Ontario as a team of enemy spies and thugs try to prevent them from delivering a mysterious suitcase. It was an absolute pleasure to shoot and create alongside an incredible team of passionate film makers and actors, and we are very proud for this piece to be out in the world!
